Jaipur Book Lovers Is 100

 

 

 

Hashtag for the 100th meetup is    #JBL100

 

 

 

 

It took them more than three years but Jaipur Book Lovers turns 100 on 2nd June 2019. And to let the world know about it they not only are going to make some noise about it but they are going to celebrate the occasion in style.

They have booked KRISHNAYAN from 5 pm  at the Jawahar Kala Kendra on JLN Marg, Jaipur on 2nd June 2019 for a gathering of 100 persons. Instead of a regular meetup they are going to hold a quiz  and other games having information related to books as theme. They are going to give away discount vouchers from a local book store as prizes. A member has generously agreed to donate a book shaped cake for the occasion. Others are donating their time and some are chipping in with money. This collection drive is a necessary as the participation in the JBL is completely free of cost.

JBL, as Jaipur Book Lovers Club is fondly known among members, is getting a limited edition coat pin cast in the shape of their logo. This pin is to be sold at cost to cost basis to the members on 2nd June.

JBL has die hard fans among all age groups. Here is what they have to say about JBL.

This is what Mr.Anurag Bhatnagar has to say about the club.

“Jaipur Book Lovers is a Book lovers dream. I had been searching in Universities Language Departments, with Bookstores and organisations like Crossword, JKK, elusive groups like the Pratibha Foundation. I even asked around at the JLF but was always disappointed.

It reminded me of

” My self when young frequented many saint; and heard great argument ; But evermore came out by the same door as in I went” as my Guru  Omar Khayyam would have said.

Then, I found myself at a JBL meetup about two years back . It has got my synapses , whatever are left, crackling, the serotonin flowing and the    neurons stirring again.

I love JBL for getting me fired up again, chastened  by the huge gaps in my reading over at least the last two decades and I love the passion of the members, young and old , specially the young have for reading books.

We have a lot to thank the older members for maintaining such class at JBL.”

Another member, Ankit Bohre,  who has moved out of town says, ” I miss coming to meetups, now Sundays are boring.”

‘जयपुर बुक्स लवर्स’- मुझे जयपुर में मिलने वाली सबसे अच्छी चीज़ों में से एक है, हालाँकि इस बात का हमेशा मलाल रहेगा कि बहुत देर से इस क्लब के बारे में पता चला ओर मैं ज़्यादा समय नहीं दे पाई। पुस्तकस्थ जो विद्या है उसे कैसे व्यवहारिक जीवन में उतारना है, अथवा किस पुस्तक में क्या सीख है यह observe करना मैंने इस क्लब से सीखा। पुस्तकों से प्यार तो मुझे बहुत है, पर समयाभाव से पढ़ नहीं पाती हूँ- पर इस क्लब के माध्यम से मुझे सतत पढ़ने की प्रेरणा मिलती है, और एक ही पुस्तक को कितनी प्रकार से पढ़ा जा सकता है- यह भी मैंने यहाँ जाना। हालाँकि मैं अधिक समय तक मीट-अप्स में शामिल नहीं हो पाई पर फिर भी इतने कम समय में जो सबसे सीखा- और नये शहर में जो आत्मीयता पाई, उसके लिये आभारी रहूँगी। यह क्ल ऐसे ही अनवरत रूप से चलता रहे, इसी भावना के साथ- विपाशा जैन

“I have been part of the JBL group since the last few months and already it has had a huge impact on me. I have been reading books since the last 7 years and was looking for a platform where I could share about what I have read and could also get info on other books and authors worth reading. The Book lovers group has proved to be that exact platform. Through it I have come to know about many different interesting books, reading them will surely improve my understanding of life and the world and also help me grow as a person.

The members of JBL come from different walks of life. Different cultural and social backgrounds. Different age groups and academic backgrounds.

This makes JBL a perfect group to have discussions.

I enjoy the experience of being the JBL meet up and later on also enjoy the memories of it.

It is my personal endeavour to bring the best of books to the group so all members can benefit from it.

I sincerely remain committed to Jaipur Book lovers group.

I take this opportunity to thank each and every member of the group for letting me be a part of their group and giving me a chance to express my views. With the 100th meetup of the group coming up, I congratulate the founders of the group for conceiving, creating,developing and nurturing such a noble community of book lovers I wish them all the best.”  – Prasanjeet

For Ms. Vandana Varma JBL is” a Plethora of intellectual opportunities”

 

 

Books on Sports meetup  Group Photo

 

They have a member who reads more than 50 books a year and never misses a meetup and there is another who attends the meetup just for the masala Chai and the book talk. They have about 200 active members so the meetups are well attended affairs and the discussions are lively and in depth.

Group photo after the meetup on Japanese writing

 

Meetup on books JBL inspired you to read

Is your passion reading books? Join them! They are  your tribe! Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and twitter and attend their meetings on 2nd Sunday and 4th Sunday of the month from 11 am to 1 pm. at an appointed cafe in Jaipur.

 

Hashtag for the 100th meetup is                     #JBL100

 

 

For Them Book Is The Star

 

 

 

Jaipur Book Lovers held their 99th meetup at Chaisa Cafe, Lal Kothi on, Sunday, 12th May 2019.

They were there to celebrate the Book. Because the topic for this meetup was “Books Are The Stars of JBL”. The members were free to talk about any all time favourite books of theirs.

Prasanjeet Singh talked about his all time favourite book Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi.

 

Here is what he had to say about the book in his words,

“It is a story of a wooden puppet and his adventures and journey. The puppet does not listen to his father Gepetto and runs away from him and always ends up in trouble.He makes bad friends who try to cheat him. He once ends up in a far away land and also comes across a fairy. Later on he is captured by a magician who tries to use him for his magic shows. Eventually  he is united with his father after being swallowed by the big dog fish which is so big that  it can swallow a whole ship. The wooden puppet is creation of one Master Cherry. The book is very fascinating and it takes you on a surreal journey. I was personally in a very happy state of mind while reading it and cut off from the rest of the world. Written in 19 century in Italy by Carlo Collodi whose   real name was Carlo Lorenzini has used some very fascinating terms such as – Land of miracles, the inn of the red crawfish. The book is beautifully written and has a few unique words as well which will improve the readers’s vocabulary. It remains my favorite book. ”

 

Ms.Santana talked about the Lizard Cage by Karen Connelly, Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi and Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks.

 

Dr.Ruchir Sodani talked about these books. He is a big Asimov fan!

 

Two new members

The two Abhisheks

The Group Photo!

 

Till we meet again to talk about some more books.

 

 

 

Boneless Chicken In Shahi Gravy

Serves: 3 Persons
Time Taken: 90 minutes
Ingredients:
300 grams Boneless Chicken
150 grams Oil
4 medium onions minced
1 inch piece of Ginger
5 TBS Fresh Milk Malai
2 heaping TSP chili powder
1 heaping TSP coriander powder
1/2 TSP Fried Cumin Powder
2 TSP (not heaping) salt
100 grams fresh Curd
25 numbers of Cashew nuts
1/4 TSP Cardamom powder
1 TBS Kewra water
Juice of Fresh 1/2 piece of Lemon
1 pinch of safron diluted in warm water.
Method:
Fry the onions till lightly brown in oil in a cooker.
Add red chili powder, coriander powder and salt with some water and cook till oil separates.
Add curd and cook till masala takes a deep red color and oil separates again.
Add boneless chicken with some water.
Cook on low flame for 30 min.
Make a thin paste of cashew nuts and ginger in a mixer and add to the cooker.
Cook for another 30 min.
Add cardamom powder, kewra water,lemon juice and safron water to the cooker and cook for 10 min. and take off the gas.
Serve with hot chapaties or boiled rice.

 

Do you take a camera with you on your holiday?

A Lomo Camera La Sardina

Do you take a camera with you on your holiday?

This would seem like a no brainer question to most of us. Cameras are every where.The mobiles cameras get better & better. The digital cameras get cheaper & cheaper. Film cameras are quite cheap too. And who can resist the urge to own one? And what holiday is complete without pictures from the trip gracing your mantlepiece & your Facebook page. Of course you need to take a camera with you on your holiday. Only piece of obvious advice though is to enjoy the holiday first & record it later. Take in the whole picture & not just what you see thru the viewfinder.

What gear to take with you on a trip?

If you are not a professional photographer a simple point & shoot digital camera with spare memory cards, a USB drive, ready to use rechargeable battery, battery charger & flash light with its batteries will do. You will also need a waterproof bag which can be tied around the waist or which you can hang from your shoulder or neck. This way  you can keep your hands free while you operate the camera & keep all the photography stuff is in one place. If you are going abroad do not forget to take along a power adapter too for the battery charger.

If you are planing to take pics by a mobile phone then it would be a good idea to open an account with websites like FaceBook.com, Twitter.com & Flickr.com to share the pics as & when you click them. You will also need an internet account on your mobile phone. If you are a twitter fiend you already know you can attach pics to your status updates. You should also familiarize yourself with the FAQs of the website. You do want everything to work properly once you are on the holiday.

What pictures should you take?

As taking digital pictures is relatively cheaper give flight to your imagination. Click what ever looks interesting to you, including you!

Please make sure that you have the necessary permissions from the relevant authorities to take pictures & that you have paid the relevant fees by buying a ticket for the camera. Do not assume that it is OK to take pictures wherever you are. Make sure by asking.

When you get back home, copy the pictures to your computer hard drive make a back up on a DVD or a CD & have a holiday album/ holiday photo book made professionally by somebody like  snapfish.in & gift a copy to all who went with you on the trip. If you shared your pics from a mobile on facebook.com or filckr.com, snapfish.in can print these pics too.

Unique Restaurants Of Jaipur

Steam-The Lounge, At The Rambagh Palace

Today I read an article about 10 unusual restaurants of India. A facebook  friend had shared the link. Being on facebook has its uses, you know! Jaipur did not feature in the list. So naturally I had to make a list of restaurants unique to Jaipur.

1.The Dining Hall, Swarn Mahal, at the Rambah Palace, with its painted ceiling

is unique.

2. Steam, the Lounge Bar, at the Rambagh Palace, with restored Stem Engine & Victorian Station is very unique.

3. Polo Bar, at the Rambagh Palace, is unique.

4.Revolving restaurant at the OM Tower on M.I.Road is unique.

5.Chokhi Dhani, an recreated  ethic village restaurant is unique.

6.Pink Pepper, a restaurant in a bus which goes across Jaipur while the diners eat.

7. Durg Cafeteria at Nahargarh Fort is unique with stunning view of the city of Jaipur.

8. The Dinning Rooms in the RTDC’s Royal Trains are unique.

9. 1135 AD, A Resturant on the ramparts of the fort of Amber is unique.

10. The ancient India Coffee House at the Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) & on the M.I.Road are unique for being hot bed of intellectualism in Jaipur.

And

11. Tapri, the tea house.

These are all I can think of. If you think I have missed a Restaurant please feel free to add it to the comments.

A Recipe To Cook Raan At Home

Cooked leg piece-Raan

How To Cook A Raan At Home

Serves 4 persons

Marinade

Ginger Paste 2 Tea Spoons Heaping

Garlic Paste  2 Tea Spoons Heaping

Curd 400 gms Strained ( with as little water in it as possible)

Rum 1 large peg

Kachri Powder 2 Tea Spoons

2 Tea Spoons Red Chillie Powder

Salt ½ Tea Spoon or to taste

Masala

Ghee 150 gms

Oil     150 gms

Saabut Garam Masala ( 4 Doda, 1 ½ inch Dal chini, 5 Big Tej Patta, 20 Kali Mirch,

10 Cloves, 4 Small Ilaichi)

Oninons 4 large minced

Red  chillie powder 2 tea spoons heaping ( or to taste)

Corriender Powder 2 tea spoons heaping( or same proportion as the red chillies)

Turmeric ½ Tea Spoon

Salt -One Tea Spoon (Not heaping) or to taste.

Sour Curd 200 gms ( or lesser in proportion to the red chillies as this much curd is needed to take the bite out of the red chillies)

Garlic Paste 2 Tea Spoons

Ginger Paste 2 Tea Spoons

2 green chillies minced

1 leg piece Mutton ( 750 gms. to 1 Kg)

Wash the leg piece and prick it with knife thoroughly. Mix the marinade ingredients & apply them to the raan. Put it in your fridge overnight.

When preparing the mixture for the marinade make sure that it is not watery. You should  get rid of the water in the curd by tying it in a thin muslin cloth.

Heat the oil in a cooker till it is smoking & add the ghee. Add all the Saabut Gram Masala fry in oil for on low heat for a moment. Add the onions & fry the onions till they are brown.

Add red chillies, dhania, turmeric & salt with some water & fry till oil sepatrates.

While adding the curd ensure to stir the mixture on high flame till the masala comes to a boil. Keep the flame on low heat and keep frying the curry till it takes the color of deep oily red chillies.

Add the Garlic paste and the ginger paste & green chillies to the curry and cook some more.

Pre heat the oven at 300 Degrees and assemble the marinated leg piece and the masala in the oven tray & put it the oven.

Once the oil starts bubbling set the temperature to 150 degrees and cook till done. If you wish you can turn the leg piece a couple of times as the oil will settle at the bottom of the tray & may not cover the leg piece.

It can also be cooked in a Cooker on a slow fire.

Serve with hot  chapaties.

Viratnagar

Viratnagar is about 86 km from Jaipur on the Jaipur-Shahpura-Alwar route. You have to turn for Viratnagar at Shahpura on Jaipur Delhi Highway.

But why Viratnagar? Who goes to Viratnagar? You might ask.

A little time invested in visiting the sights this town has to offer will pay rich dividends, you will see.

Viratnagar  has been a witness to a lot of history being made. According to the excavations done around this town people have been living here since the prehistoric times.

Accorading to the Mahabharat,King Virat founded the city Viratnagar, and the Pandavs spent thirteen years of ‘Agyatvas’(exile) here. This is the city which saw much wheeling & dealing to broker peace to avoid the great war of Mahabharat. Ancient travelers have mentioned their visits to the city. The river Banganga flows near by, a fair is held here every year.

Beejak Ki Pahari

This serene site is in the lap of the Aravali mountain range. On a ridge under a rock shaped like a Cannon there is an ancient Hanuman temple.

And there are remains of a Budhist Monastry & a Budhist Stupa shrine from the Mauryan times. This site was found in work done in 1935-36. This is a protected site of ASI.

In recent development work done here a cement shelter has been built at the foot of the hillock.

Ganesh Mandir and the Local Museum. The museum has some relics of great importance and antiquity from the Ashokan period.

A stepwell on the way to Panch Malla Mahal badly in need of restoration.

Panch Mala Mahal. Raja Man Singh had this imposing structure made.  Emperor Akbar used to stay here on his way to the Ajmer shrine.

I think he has seen a lot of tourists pass by this palace.

The paintings on the domes of the chatries of the palace.

Shri Shri 1008 Digambar Jain Nasiyan.

Shri Shri 1008 Digambar Jain Nasiyan, Mughal Gate,Viratnagar

Maybe the ghost who walks was here! This is his mark.

A Visit To Kaila Devi Mela

You must have heard the English idiom ‘God is in the details’.

It is very relevant when you are traveling in India off the beaten track by a RSRTC bus & are not a seasoned traveler of this vast land of ours. I had to go to Kaila Devi for darshan yesterday so I packed a toothbrush and hopped onto the first Roadways bus leaving Jaipur Sindhi Camp Bus stand in the general direction of Karauli & Kaila Devi village.

The bus headed out on to the NH11(Jaipur-Agra Highway). All went well till the Mehndipur Balaji Mor ( turning) from there on the bus took a badly carpeted single track  route to Hindaun City, through numerous minor villages, which at one point even crossed right through the Aravali range. I reached Hindaun City in the evening. But the direct bus to Kaila Devi was jam packed so I took the bus to Karauli & from Karauli I took a bus to the Kaila Devi Mela ground. The journey that started at 3.30 pm ended at midnight in Kaila Devi Mela Ground. The good thing was the influx of people to the Kaila Devi was such that there was no dearth of buses to Karauli or the mela ground. An important lesson learned was to ask about the duration of the journey also besides the category of the bus and the route taken by the bus.

If you can talk to your fellow passengers for nuggets of practical advice, nothing like it. You can be sure that they have been on this route more often than you. Rightly though, these days you are advised not to talk to your fellow passengers. They might cause you bodily or financial harm. You can check out sites like INDIAMIKE before leaving home for nuggets of information & practical advice.

Kaila Devi Shaktipeeth

Kaila Devi village is situated some 180km from Jaipur and about 25km from Karauli on the banks of Kalisil river. In 1114 AD Mahatama Kedargiri established the idols of Kailadevi  here. It is a shaktipeeth.

After a short nap and shower I was on my way to the Kaila Devi Temple for the Mangla Arti darshan after 4 o’clock in the morning. The whole world was awake with one mission only. On the way up on both sides of the way to the temple the shops were selling numerous articles people offer to the deity like doras, sindoor, suhagan ka shringar-green dhani churis, sweet meats as prasad, books of bhajans & history of Kaila Devi, CDs of bhajans and food stuffs, snacks other things which would attract the devotees. When I  reach near the temple the temple guards form the devotees into a giant ‘Q’ which is moving ahead at a brisk pace. We reach the ‘garbh grah’ have darshan and are already on our way out. My world is at peace.

‘Navratras are always busy here. They want as many people as practically possible to have darshan. The sky is lighting up as I reach the guesthouse.

I have some tea and go up to the temple again at 7 o’clock. I want to take some pictures. If it is possible it is even more busy now. People are lighting up diyas and buying prasad and waiting their turn for darshan. I take some pictures and am back at the guesthouse where I have some breakfast and am back at the bus stand & book a ticket on a bus going direct to Jaipur.

One of our fellow devotees is an American with excellent hindi, who is on his way to Mehndipur Balaji. He is visiting all places where Balaji is worshiped.

After a long journey we are back in Jaipur at 6 o’clock.

Kaila Devi Shaktipeeth

Lastly I must say that the mela administration Trust is doing  good work of a difficult job in  managing this yearly influx of humanity at the deity’s feet. The security was tight & helpful to the devotees. The RSRTC bus service was excellent, plentiful & timely.

Details About Kaila Devi

Got To Have Gota!

Recently my wife went shopping in the Johri Bazaar and came home with some spools & a couple of cards of  gota ribbons. When I asked her what she would do with them she said that they were for a saree. But she had no idea which saree she would use them on. Between you & me I doubt if she even has a saree that could be trimmed with gota ribbon. That is the appeal & the use of gota in Rajasthan.

To put it simply gota is lace made with silver or gold colored metal or plastic threads.

In Rajasthan, gota trimmed clothes for men, women & children are  used on all festive & ceremonial  occasions and marriages &  marriages proposals, celebration of the birth of the latest child of the family or even  the last journey to the funeral pyre of the lady of the house. Even the idols of our deity are dressed with costumes trimmed & decorated with various types of gota. Our holy books are treasured in swatches hemmed with gota. Gota work is even used in making enchanting wall hangings.

Gota work or lappe-ka-kaam has seen the days when pure silver & pure gold threads were used to make these ribbons to trim the clothes of Royalty & people of Rajasthan. These, gold & silver gota, ribbons were  in use till about as recently as 1970s. But due to the high prices these metals command now a days, plastic and other metal thread ribbons are in vogue today. The metals with which they are made may have changed but their use has not lessened or their demand decreased in these modern times among the Rajasthani women.

A Recipe To Cook ‘Khichari’

Rice & Green Moong Lentil

To Serve: 1  OR 2 Persons

Time Taken: About 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Green Moon Dal( This is moong lentils with the green covering unlike the yellow moong dal): 4 heaping Table Spoons.

Rice: 4 heaping Table Spoons.

Turmeric Powder: 1/4 Tea Spoon

Salt: To Taste

Water: 400 ml.

Some Sugar & a Little Clarified Butter and Milk  OR  200 gm Fresh Curd. As per choice.

Mix the lentil and rice together and clean and wash the mixture in water and let it soak in water for 10-15 minutes.

Throw away the water used to soak the lentils & rice mixture and put the mixture in a pressure cooker. Add about 400 ml of water with the salt and  the turmeric powder.

Pressure cook at high flame till the cooker whistles once then lower the flame to simmer for 10 minutes. Switch off the flame after 10 minutes. Let the cooker cool down on its own for 5-10 minutes.

The ‘khichari’ is ready to be served.

It can be eaten with salt as it is Or with milk and sugar and clarified butter Or with fresh curd and salt or sugar Or with only sugar.

It is very light on the stomach and is generally made when somebody is recuperating from an illness.

The 50:50 ratio of the rice and green moong dal can be varied according to a persons  choice.

If you are in a hurry and do not have the time or inclination to soak the rice and green moong dal mixture in water before pressure cooking the mixture  just wash the rice and dal  thoroughly in water  and add 100 ml extra water to the mixture and cook for the stipulated time.

Khichari